Google seeks dismissal of suit filed by authors

Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 4, 2012

The Freddie Mac headquarters building stands in McLean, Virginia, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010. Mortgage rates for U.S. loans climbed to a seven-month high, increasing borrowing costs for homebuyers in a sluggish real estate market. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg less

The Freddie Mac headquarters building stands in McLean, Virginia, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010. Mortgage rates for U.S. loans climbed to a seven-month high, increasing borrowing costs for homebuyers in a ... more

Photo: Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg

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A shopper browses televisions at a Target Corp. store in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Friday, April 27, 2012. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is scheduled to release personal consumption data on April 30. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg less

A shopper browses televisions at a Target Corp. store in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Friday, April 27, 2012. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is scheduled to release personal consumption data ... more

Photo: Victor J. Blue, Bloomberg

Google seeks dismissal of suit filed by authors

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INTERNET

Google asks judge to dismiss suit

Google asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by an organization representing authors over the search-engine company's digital scanning of millions of books, saying the group can't represent the owners of the books' copyrights.

U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan heard arguments Thursday on motions by Google to deny the authors the right to proceed as a class and to dismiss the organization's case. Chin last year rejected a $125 million settlement between the two sides, and the parties have been unable to reach a new agreement.

"It would be a terrible burden on the court if each individual author was forced to litigate," Joanne Zack, a lawyer for the Authors Guild, told the judge. "A class action is superior."

Google announced in 2004 a plan to digitally scan books from public and university libraries to provide short snippets of text to people who use its Internet search engine. The Authors Guild, individual authors and publishing companies sued in 2005, claiming the Mountain View company hadn't sought authorization from the owners of the works.

Google has argued that the display of snippets of text is fair use under copyright law.

EARNINGS

Freddie seeks aid

Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance company operating under U.S. conservatorship, will seek $19 million in Treasury Department aid after a first-quarter profit of $577 million failed to offset a dividend payment owed on the government's nearly 80 percent stake.

The company had a net-worth deficit of $19 million at the close of the three-month period ending March 31, reflecting total income of $1.79 billion before accounting for the $1.81 billion payment on Treasury's stake, the company said Thursday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The company and its larger rival Fannie Mae own or guarantee almost half of U.S. home loans. They have been sustained by Treasury Department aid since they were seized in September 2008 amid losses tied to defaults and foreclosures.

Freddie Mac reported a $619 million profit for the fourth quarter of last year, and a full-year net loss of $5.3 billion for 2011.

RETAIL

Sales trail projections

U.S. retailers' same-store sales trailed analysts' estimates for the first time in five months as the earlier Easter holiday pulled sales into March and cooler weather cut mall traffic.

Sales at Target rose 1.1 percent, falling short of the average projection for a 2.9 percent gain from analysts surveyed by researcher Retail Metrics. Macy's posted a 1.2 percent increase in same-store sales, missing the 1.9 percent estimate.

Retailers faced slowing sales gains after Easter fell more than two weeks earlier this year and pulled some shopping into March, when sales gained 3.9 percent. Same-store sales for the more than 20 retailers tracked by Retail Metrics rose 0.8 percent in April, compared with estimates for a 1.5 percent gain, the first time they've trailed since November.

San Francisco's Gap reported same-store sales that fell 2 percent, worse than the estimate for a 0.9 percent decline. While Gap North America sales increased by 4 percent from 2 percent last year, Old Navy and the international segment saw declines from the earlier period.

Old Navy, which had a 6 percent tumble in comparable-store sales from a 14 percent increase a year ago, was especially hurt by the earlier Easter "given a greater merchandise focus for the holiday," Erika Maschmeyer, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. in Chicago, said in a note Thursday.

MANUFACTURING

Hawker to restructure

Aircraft maker Hawker Beechcraft filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday after reaching agreement with the majority of its secured lenders and bondholders to restructure its massive debt.

The Kansas manufacturer said it filed a voluntary petition to expedite the prearranged restructuring for Hawker Beechcraft and some of its subsidiaries in bankruptcy court for the southern district of New York.

Under the terms of its restructuring plan, about $2.5 billion in debt and almost $125 million in annual cash interest expenses would be eliminated. The company also said it had obtained a commitment for $400 million in financing that will enable it to continue paying employees, venders and others.

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